Then said I - Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Lo! I know not how to speak, - For a child, am I!

Then said Yahweh unto me, Do not say, A child, am, I, - For against whomsoever I send thee, shalt thou go, And whatsoever I command thee, shalt thou speak:

Then Yahweh put forth his hand, and touched my mouth, - and Yahweh said unto me, Lo! I have put my words in thy mouth.

See! I have set thee in charge this day, over the nations and over the kingdoms, To uproot and to break down, and to destroy and to tear in pieces, - To build and to plant.

Moreover the Word of Yahweh came unto me saying, What canst thou see Jeremiah? And I said, A twig of an almond-tree, can I see.

Then said Yahweh unto me - Thou hast rightly seen, - for keeping watch, am I over my word to perform it.

And the word of Yahweh came unto me a second time saying, What canst thou see? And I said, A boiling caldron, Can I see, with, the front thereof lion the North.

Then said Yahweh unto me, - Out of the North, shall break forth calamity, against all the inhabitants of the land.

For behold me! calling for all the families of the kingdoms of the North, Declareth Yahweh, - and they shall come, and set every one his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem and against all her walls round about, and against all the cities of Judah!

I, therefore - lo! I have set thee to-day as a fortified city, and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze, over all the land, - against the kings of Judah, against her princes, against her priests and against the people of the land.

Neither said they, Where is Yahweh, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, - Who led us Through the desert, Through a land of wastes and clefts, Through a land of parched places and of death-shade, Through a land, Along which no man had passed, And in which no son of earth dwelt?

The priests, said not Where is Yahweh? And, they who handled the law, did not acknowledge me, And the shepherds transgressed against me, - And the prophets, prophesied by Baal, And so after things that could not profit, did they walk.

Yet, I, planted thee a precious vine, a wholly true seed, - How then didst thou change thyself towards me, into the degenerate plantings of the alien vine?

O generation see, ye, the word of Yahweh, A desert, became I unto Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Wherefore, have my people said, We have roved about, We will not come in any more unto thee?

He hath said, If a man send away his wife, and she go from him and become another man's, will he return unto her, again? would not that land be, utterly defiled? And, thou, hast been unchaste with many neighbours, and yet thinkest to return unto me! Declareth Yahweh.

Lift up thine eyes unto the bare heights and see - where thou hast not been unchastely embraced! beside the ways, hast thou sat to them, like the Arabian m the desert, - and hast defiled the land with thine unchastities, and with thy wickedness.

And Yahweh said unto me, in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what apostate Israel, did? She used to go upon every high mountain and beneath every green tree, and commit unchastity there.

And I said, after she had been doing all these things, Unto me, shall thou return? and she returned not, - and her treacherous sister Judah saw it!

Then said Yahweh unto me, - Apostate Israel, hath justified herself, - more than treacherous Judah.

Though, I myself, had said, - How can I put thee among the sons, And give thee a land to be coveted, An inheritance of beauty, of the hosts of nations? Yet I said, My father, shalt thou call me, And away from me, shalt thou not turn.

There hath come up a lion out of his thicket, Yea, a destroyer of nations - hath set forward, hath come forth out of his place, - To make thy land a desolation, Thy cities, shall fall in ruins, so as to have no inhabitant.

Then said I, - Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Surely, thou hast suffered this people and Jerusalem to be beguiled, saying, Peace, shall ye have, - whereas the sword shall reach unto the soul.

At that time, shall it be said of this people and of Jerusalem, - The sharp wind of the bare heights in the desert, cometh towards the daughter of my people, - not to winnow nor to cleanse.

And, I, said, - Only, poor people, are they, - They act foolishly, For they know not the way of Yahweh, the justice of their God!

They have acted deceptively against Yahweh, And have said, Not He! Neither shall there come upon us, calamity, Nor sword nor famine, shall we see;

Neither have they said in their heart, - Let us we pray you, revere Yahweh our God, Who giveth rain, even the early and the latter, in its season, - The appointed weeks of harvest, he reserveth for us.

For there have been found among my people lawless men, - One lieth in wait, as with the stooping of fowlers, They have set a trap, they capture men:

Thus saith Yahweh - Stand ye at the ways - and see, And ask for the paths of age-past times, Where is the good way? And walk therein, And ye shall find rest to your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein !

Therefore will I raise up over you, watchmen, Give ye heed to the sound of a horn, - But they said, We will not give heed!

What then is it to me that - Frankincense from Shebah come in, or Sweet cane from a land afar off? Your own ascending-offerings, are not acceptable, Nor are, your sacrifices, pleasing to me.

An assayer, have I set thee amongst my people, of gold-ore, - That thou mayest note and try their way:

And will ye then come in and stand before me in this house whereon my Name hath been called, and say, - We have set ourselves free, - for the purpose of committing all these abominations?

And will cast you out from before me, - Just as I have cast out All your brethren, All the seed of Ephraim.

For the sons of Judah, have done, that which was wicked in mine eyes, Declareth Yahweh, - They have set their abominations in the house whereon my Name hath been called to defile it;

From Dan, was heard the snorting of his horses At the sound of the neighing of his chargers, the whole land trembled, - Yea they came in and did sat up The land and the fulness thereof, The city, and them who were dwelling therein.

Then said Yahweh, - Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, - And have not hearkened to hay voice neither walked therein;

Woe to me! for my grievous injury, Severe, is my wound, - But, I, said, Verily, this, is an affliction and I must bear it:

My tent, is laid waste, And all my tent-cords, are broken, - My children, are gone forth from me and they, are not. There is none, To stretch out any more my tent, Or to set up my curtains.

That the oath may be established which I sware to your fathers, To give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day. Then answered I and said, Amen, O Yahweh!

And Yahweh said unto me, - Proclaim thou all, these words, throughout the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem saying, - Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them,

Yahweh therefore said unto me, - There is found a conspiracy, among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem:

for according to the number of thy cities, have become thy gods O Judah, - and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem, have ye set up album to the Shameful thing, altars for burning incense to Baal.

Thus, said Yahweh unto me, - Go and buy for thyself a linen girdle, and put upon thy loins, - but in water, shalt thou not place it.

And it came to pass, at the end of many days, - that Yahweh said unto me, - Arise go to the Euphrates, and take from thence the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there.

Say thou to the king and to the queen-mother, Abase yourselves - Sit down, - For descended have your Head-tires, your Crown of adornment.

And Yahweh said unto me, - Do not pray for this people for blessing;

Then said I, Ah, My Lord Yahweh! Lo! the prophets, are saying to them - Ye shall not see the sword And famine, shall ye not have, - For prosperity in truth, will I give you, in this place.

So then Yahweh said unto me, Falsehood, are the prophets prophesying in my name, I have not sent them Neither have I commanded them, Neither have I spoken unto them, - A vision of falsehood, and A divination of worthlessness and A fraud of their own hearts, They, are prophesying unto you.

Then said Yahweh unto me, Though Moses and Samuel should stand before me, My soul could not be toward this people, - Send them away from before me And let them go forth.

And I will set in charge over them - four species Declareth Yahweh, The sword to slay, and The dogs to trail along, - and The bird of the heavens and The beast of the earth to devour and to destroy.

Said Yahweh, - Verily, I will loose thee, for good! Verily, I will intercede for thee In the time of calamity, and In the time of distress with the enemy!

I sat not in the circle of mockers, Nor became I uproarious, - Because of thy hand, by myself did I sit, For with indignation, hadst thou filled me.

And the house of banqueting, shall thou not enter To sit with them, To eat and to drink.

Therefore lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When it shall be said no more By the life of Yahweh, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but -

Thus, said Yahweh unto me - Go and stand in the gate of the sons of the people, through which the kings of Judah enter in, and through which they come out, - also in all the gates of Jerusalem.

and it commit wickedness in mine eyes, in not hearkening unto my voice, then will I repent concerning the good wherewith I had said I would do it good.

Then said they, - Come ye and let us devise against Jeremiah devices, For the law shall not perish from the priest, Nor, counsel, from the wise, Nor, the word from the prophet: Come and let as smite him with the tongue, And let us not give ear to any of his words!

Thus said Yahweh, Go and buy a potters earthen bottle, - and take of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests;

Then entered Jeremiah out of Topheth, whither Yahweh had sent him to prophesy, - and stood in the court of the house of Yahweh, and said unto all the people:

And it came to pass on the morrow, when Pashhur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks, - that Jeremiah said unto him - Not Pashhur, hath Yahweh called thy name, But Magor-missaviv.

Then said Jeremiah unto them, - Thus, shall ye say unto Zedekiah:

For I have set my face against this city, for calamity and not for blessing, Declareth Yahweh, - Into the hand of the king of Babylon, shall it be given up, and he will burn it with fire.

Thus, said Yahweh, Go thou down to the house of king of Judah, and speak thou there this word,

An earthen vessel to be despised thrown about, is this man Coniah? Or an instrument, in which is no pleasure? Wherefore are they to be cast out, he and his seed, and to be thrown forth upon a land which they have not known?

Thus, saith Yahweh, - Register ye this man, childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days, - For there shall prosper of his seed No man sitting upon the throne of David, Or ruling any more over Judah.

Therefore, lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, When it shall not be said any more As Yahweh liveth, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

but - As Yahweh liveth who hath brought up and who hath brought in the seed of the house of Israel out of the land of the North, and out of all the lands whither I have driven them, - And they shall remain upon their own soil.

They keep on saying to them who despise me, Yahweh, hath spoken, saying, Prosperity, shall ye have! And to every one who is going on in the stubbornness of his own heart, have they said, There shall come on you, no calamity

I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy in my name falsely, saying, - I have dreamed! I have dreamed!

But, since ye keep on saying, The Oracle of Yahweh, therefore, Thus saith Yahweh, Because ye have said this word, The oracle of Yahweh, whereas I had sent unto you saying, Ye shall not say, The oracle of Yahweh

Yahweh shewed me, and lo! two baskets of figs, which had been set before the temple of Yahweh, - after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive, Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the princes of Judah and the carpenters and the smiths out of Jerusalem, and had brought them into Babylon: -

Then said Yahweh unto me, - What canst thou see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs: the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, for badness.

Therefore will I set mine eye upon them for good, and will bring them hack upon this land, - and will build them up, and not pull them down, and will plant them and not root them up;

For, thus, said Yahweh, God of Israel unto me, Take this cup of indignation wine out of my hand, - and cause all the nations unto whom I am sending thee, to drink it:

to wit said he - Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and her kings her princes, - making them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a contempt, as at this day;

Therefore shalt thou say unto them Thus, saith Yahweh, - If ye will not hearken unto me, To walk in my law which I have set before you;

Then said the princes, and all the people, unto the priests and unto the prophets, - There is nothing in this man worthy of death, for in the name of Yahweh our God, hath he spoken unto us.

Thus, said Yahweh unto me, Make thee, bonds and bars, and put them upon thine own neck.

Then said Jeremiah the prophet, unto Hananiah the prophet, in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people, who were standing in the house of Yahweh,

then said Jeremiah the prophet, - Amen! So, may Yahweh do! Yahweh establish thy words which thou hast prophesied by bringing back the vessels of the house of Yahweh and all them of the captivity, from Babylon unto this place.

Then said Jeremiah the prophet unto Hananiah the prophet, - Hear I pray thee, Hananiah: Yahweh hath not sent thee, Thou, therefore hast caused this people to trust in falsehood!

Because ye have said, - Yahweh hath raised us up prophets in Babylon.

Therefore Thus, saith Yahweh, - Behold me! bringing punishment upon Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and upon his seed, he shall have no man to dwell in the midst of rids people, Nor shall he see the good that I am about to do for my people, Declareth Yahweh; Because revolt, hath he spoken against Yahweh.

Thou therefore do not fear O my Servant Jacob Urgeth Yahweh, Neither be thou dismayed, O Israel, For behold me! saving thee from afar And thy seed out of the land of their captivity, - Then shall Jacob return, and rest and be quiet, And there shall be none to make him afraid;

Thus, saith Yahweh - Behold me! bringing back the captivity of the tents of Jacob, And on his habitations, will I have compassion, - So shall the city be built, upon her own mound, And the citadel, upon its own site, shall remain:

Erect thee waymarks Set thee up finger-posts, Apply thy heart to The highway - The road by which thou didst depart, - Return O virgin of Israel, Return unto these thy cities.

Upon this, I awoke and considered, - And, my sleep, had been sweet to me!

Lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh - That I will sow, The house of Israel, and The house of Judah, With the seed of men, and With the seed of beasts;

If these ordinances depart from before me, Declareth Yahweh, - the seed of Israel also, may cease from being a nation before me, all the days,

Thus, saith Yahweh - If the heavens above can be measured, Or the foundations of the earth beneath, be searched out I also, may reject all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, Declareth Yahweh.

And Jeremiah said, - The word of Yahweh came unto me saying:

So Hanameel son of mine uncle, came unto me, according to the word of Yahweh into the guard-court, and said unto me, Buy, I pray thee my field that is in Anathoth which is in the land of Benjamin, for, thine, is the right of inheritance, and, thine, the redemption, - buy it for thyself. So I knew, that the word of Yahweh, it was.

and gave the scroll of purchase unto Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle -- s son , and in the sight of the witnesses who subscribed the scroll of purchase, - in the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the guard-court.

Then charged I Baruch in their sight saying:

Who didst set signs and wonders, in the land of Egypt, unto this day, and in Israel and among mankind, - And didst make for thyself a name as at this day;

And the Chaldeans, who are fighting against this city, Shall enter, and Shall set this city on fire, and Shall consume it, - With the houses on whose roofs they burned incense to Baal and poured out drink-offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger; For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been nothing but doers of wickedness in my sight from the days of their youth, -

But have set their abominations in the house on which my name hath been called, to defile it;

For, Thus, saith Yahweh, - There shall not be wanting to David - A man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

As, the host of the heavens, cannot be recorded, Nor the sand of the sea, be measured, So, will I multiply, The seed of David my servant, And the Levites who attend upon me.

Hast thou not observed what, this people, have spoken saying, The two families which Yahweh did choose, he hath even east them off? And so, my people, they despise, as though they could not again become a nation in their sight!